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Elisabeth Hasselbeck may not have been fired from The View, but her days might be numbered on the show. A source tells NY Post, “ABC is desperate to freshen the show. Ratings are going soft, and research numbers on the stars’ likability are scaring network execs. Dumping Joy Behar, who was there 16 years, and Hasselbeck would be the fastest way to do it, they decided. After giving Behar the bad news last week and letting her bow out gracefully, someone leaked the Hasselbeck thing. Some enemies she has on the show saw their chance to get back at her. Barbara was spitting mad that it got mishandled, and called off the firing over [last] weekend.”
Last week Barbara Walters said Hasselbeck was not going anywhere, “We have no plans for Elisabeth to leave this show.” And her contract doesn’t expire until next year, but ABC could push her off the show to freshen it up and attract younger viewers. “It could be earlier, because the ABC brass believes the show needs to be younged-up fast. They easily could coax her to go early.”
The search for Joy’s replacement has not yet begun, “But, just as they did with ‘Live! with Kelly and Michael,’ they won’t rush. They’ll test out a number of hosts to see who works best with the women and the audience.” A rep for “The View” said, “This was all addressed on Monday’s show. [Walters] is not the least bit angry. She loves these women and wants what’s best for them. Everything else is speculation. Producers haven’t begun to search for a new co-host. We have no further comment.”
Photo from ABC
